New Salem Saab, a longtime site sponsor of Saab History has recently produced a press release about their excitement in moving forward with the new Saab Cars North America.

Press Release:

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New Salem Saab of Albany NY executes “moving forward” agreement with Saab Cars North America.

Thank you all for the positive opinions regarding our Dealership on the public forums as well as all the calls we have received in congratulating us. New Salem Saab has struggled over the last few years due to the automotive environment. We once had two huge state of the art buildings, but as the Saab market and auto industry changed so did we. From an outside glance it would appear as though things were not going so well, however the opposite was in effect. My goal was to be able to jump ahead of the ball which in turn meant serious alterations to our business model including locations. We are ever so excited and grateful that we have been chosen to continue on with the new Saab.

My grandfather started this company in 1947 and we were granted our franchise with Saab on March 23rd of 1961. I have been working in the dealership now since the age of 13 and have not strayed far from what my forefathers taught me. In doing so, I remain the Service Manager here in my store as well as the Dealer Principle. I continue to work in the shop aside our technicians and with our customers to this day. Although limited in time, my heart is truly in to maintaining the Saab on the road today as a technician. We currently have four technicians and now looking to add another as all of the surrounding dealers, North Country Imports, Brownell Motors, Pioneer Valley and Rutland Saab did not receive the same letter from SCNA that we did. I understand the distance some of the customers have to drive for warranty work and have already submitted a request for the opening of warranty service centers in the Utica, Kingston and Glens Falls areas. However, there will be some time before SCNA finalizes the K-Saab deal leaving a severe gap in warranty needs for customers. There is no real time line for when and if these shops can come online so it is up to our store in Albany NY to maintain your trust and convenience to the best our ability based on the circumstances. We cut a deal with Enterprise rent a car for a low daily rental fee and have already started to increase our parts department’s breadth and scope to help shorten repairs times. I am unique and intend to stay that way. We tell it like it is and sometimes it’s hard to hear the truth, but we will happily take you out in the shop with our technicians and show you exactly what we are seeing and why. We currently have three master Saab technicians, two of which are also GM master techs. The fourth is a UTI grad and all have ASE’s.

I feel bad for those that did not make the cut and our hearts go out to all of them on a personal level however, it is now up to New Salem Saab to do everything we can to make sure we cater to our old and newest customers the best we can during this transition. Lou Roberti formally from Roberti Saab in Kingston is still here with us and going strong. He is the sales guy and I’m the service guy. The two of us make up a pretty strong team regarding Saab. Our experience including the total dealership personnel is well over 100 years with Saab. We are 100% Saab. Completely focused and ready to reinforce our customers new and old why Saab is the brand they should stay with now and in the up and coming years. In fact this is a great time to look into Saab, its future and bring your family, your friends and your Saab back to the dealership for a reintroduction to our staff and Saab’s future!

If you’re in need of a New Saab, a Certified Pre Owned Saab, warranty service, regular service or genuine Saab parts please contact us at 518-862-2795 and ask for me, Darryl, Harold (my right hand man, with us for 14 years now) Lou Roberti in Sales, Eric in Parts or our #1 Saab advisor, Matt. We will be happy to help any way we can.

Darryl F. Carl
New Salem Saab
Saab since 1961
“The oldest originally owned exclusive Saab dealer in the US today!”
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